


is this a dream?

by neilsjosten



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Kinda, Light Angst, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, they're both in love but pretend they're just friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 20:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15915558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neilsjosten/pseuds/neilsjosten
Summary: The one where Bitty falls in love with his best friend and is scared he might not feel the same way.





	is this a dream?

Bitty and Jack’s friendship has been growing a lot during the past year.

It goes from Jack being openly antagonistic towards Bitty during practice and ignoring him outside of it to buying him coffee every Thursday. It goes from Bitty averting his eyes whenever Jack looks at him to Bitty catching Jack’s eyes and gifting him soft smiles. It goes from arguments over nothing to inside jokes. It goes from five feet apart at all times to soft brushing of hands and elbows and knees and feet. Bitty knows what this means for him. He knows he shouldn’t take advantage of this newly found friendship and turn it into something more because in the end, he’ll just end up getting hurt. He knows better yet here he is, totally and completely head over heels in love for his very cute, very straight best friend. He knows better but he can’t help what he feels, maybe he doesn’t want to.

 

~~~~~

 

Maybe Bitty was wrong. Maybe he’s not in over his head. Maybe he’s not the only one in this friendship who gets sweaty palms and daydreams about a future together. Maybe he’s not the only one who feels so much when they so as much look at each other.

At first Bitty thought he was making things up, you know, seeing what he wants to see. But then Jack had begun looking at him little longer and a little softer. He had begun letting his hand knock into Bitty’s a little more. He had begun texting Bitty about absolutely nothing all day and seeking him out in the crowd. Bitty doesn’t mind though, he’s not going to complain. He wants as much as Jack as he can get, even if it means Jack complaining about hockey plays to him at seven in the morning or the fact that the cafeteria doesn’t carry his favorite flavor of yogurt anymore. 

Sometimes Jack blushes. Bitty chirps him and teases his and Jack blushes. Bitty can’t play it off as a trick of the light or the temperature in the Haus during kegsters. Because you see, he and Jack are alone in the kitchen. The lighting isn’t the problem, no tricks there, and the temperature feels nice, not too cold and not too hot. It’s perfect. Bitty is trying out new pie recipes his Mama just sent him last night and Jack offered to help. They’ve been baking for the past hour in hopes that they can unveil some new pies at the kegster tonight. Bitty is having the time of his life because time with Jack means a lot hip-checking and chirping and laughs.

“Bittle, what did I tell you about leaving empty pie tins everywhere? It’s a bad look for the Haus.” Jacks says this seriously while trying to get the kitchen back in order but the glint in his eyes tells Bitty he’s not serious. 

“Well Mr. Zimmermann, I would listen if you weren’t helping in creating this mess and also weren’t consuming these pies along with the rest of the Haus.” Bitty tries to keep a straight face but fails and tries to hide his smile behind his oven mitt. “I can’t be the baker and the cleaner! I only have two hands. Besides, you’re here to help me right?” 

“Ha, of course. You just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. I’m yours.”

It takes Bitty six seconds to turn to Jack with wide eyes and a flushed face when his brain registers what came out of Jack’s mouth. It’s okay though because Jack is in a similar predicament. He begins stammering an apology, “I-I mean. I meant I’m yours to direct. Like I- Um. I didn’t mean I’m yo— Can we just pretend that never happened?” Jack groans in embarrassment. 

Bitty doesn’t know where this bravery comes from exactly and maybe he’ll chide himself for it later but he can’t really seem to care right now. “You’re mine, huh? I’m flattered.” Bitty is outright flirting with Jack Zimmermann and he can’t bring himself to stop.

Jack pauses in his groaning and looks up at Bitty, swallowing audibly. His blush is still there and slowly moving towards his neck and Bitty pats himself on the back a little for it. Jack stays quiet for a couple more seconds and his face softens and he just softly says, “Yeah.” 

Bitty thinks his heart might grow legs and crawl up his throat but before he can respond, Ransom and Holster enter the Haus making as much noise as they always do. “Bitty! Are you baking again? Hells yeah, I’m starving.” Bitty isn’t even sure who says it because he’s still looking at Jack who has no idea he just turned Bitty’s world upside down and inside out. He lets Ransom and Holster take as much pie as they want and then remembers that’s not a good idea and slaps their greedy hands away in order to cut them some decent slices. 

When he looks back up, Jack is gone. Bitty shoulders slump a little and he thinks about going to find Jack for a moment before he remembers he has to finish these pies. Everything else can wait. 

~~~~~

 

The Kegster. Shitty had been raving over it all week claiming he needs to “blow some steam off.” Bitty couldn’t agree more. 

Bitty hasn’t seen Jack since the kitchen incident because he was so busy getting everything ready and that’s not counting the five seconds he did see him forty-five minutes into the kegster before he was whisked away by another partygoer. Bitty’s starting to get antsy. The little bit of beer he has is a comforting buzz beneath his skin. He needs to find Jack. They have to talk about what happened in the kitchen because Bitty can’t take it anymore and he feels like he’s going crazy. Bitty feels like he’s standing on the edge of a cliff because tonight is the night Bitty is finally going to tell Jack how he feels and maybe if he’s lucky, get his feelings reciprocated.

All these nerves are making him fidgety. He needs to go to the bathroom and cool off. He heads to the one upstairs because there is no way in hell he’s going to possible have a panic attack in the one downstairs with drunk college kids around. He walks up the stairs and ducks under the yellow police tape (really Shitty?) and heads towards the bathroom. 

The door’s ajar so he assumes no one’s in there and pushes his way in. He has no idea how wrong he is until he’s staring at a wide-eyed Jack and a flushed Camilla Collins. They’d been kissing. Jack had been kissing Camilla, his ex-girlfriend (or maybe not anymore, right?). Jack had probably brought her up here for some alone time to kiss her, away from Shitty and the team, away from the drunk college kids, away from Bitty.

“Sorry kiddo, this one’s taken.” Camilla smiles at Bitty, not unkindly. She smiles at Bitty like she hasn’t just been kissing the love of Bitty’s life no less than twenty seconds ago. 

Bitty feels all the blood in his body rush to the face and realizes he has never in his life been more embarrassed. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. I just— I’m so sorry. I’ll go.” He pointedly ignores Jack’s existence and Jack’s “Bits—“ because if he just so much as looks at Jack, he might just collapse right there in front of him. 

He hears Camilla say “Just leave him, come here,” right before he closes his bedroom door. Once the door is locked, he leans his forehead against the cool wood and shuts his eyes. Calm down Bitty. Calm down. Breathe. It’s okay, just breathe. It takes a little while but his breaths eventually even out but the tension in his body is still there. He’s not in the mood for the party anymore. He goes through the motions of changing into his pajamas. He clears off his bed of outfits he had been trying on earlier in the night. He remembers putting a little more effort tonight for Jack since it was supposed to be THE night and he wanted to look good for him. He feels like such an idiot. How could he think someone like Jack Zimmermann could ever fall for someone like him? Bitty doesn’t have it in him to be jealous but he does have it in him to feel a small curl of disappointment and shame, mostly in himself for expecting the impossible. 

When he’s finally in bed under the covers with Señor Bun tucked under his chin does Bitty let himself cry over what he’s lost. But has he really lost anything if he never had it to begin with?

He pretends to be asleep when he hears soft knocking at his door twenty minutes later.

~~~~~

 

When Bitty wakes up the next morning he feels like hell. His throat is dry his neck is sore from the tucked position he slept in last night. What the hell even happened last ni— oh. Oh. Bitty curses himself inwardly for remembering. He wishes he could forget. He wishes Jack woul— NO. He’s not going to think about it.

He gets up to wash his face and brush his teeth. Maybe he’ll make pancakes with extra blueberries, he deserves it. He tries not to think about who was in this bathroom less than nine hours ago as he’s staring at himself in the mirror. He sighs and heads to the kitchen. He can hear the gurgle of the coffee machine but stops dead in his tracks when he hears “I swear Shitty, I didn’t know. I wanted to go to bed. I didn’t know she was—“ and Bitty can’t hear anymore. He makes a point to be as loud as he can and the conversation comes to an abrupt stop.

Jack Zimmermann is sitting at the kitchen table looking freshly showered and face flushed and Bitty wishes the ground could swallow him up because the universe must hate him for making Jack so damn beautiful. Bitty is so in love it hurts. Shitty is making himself a cup of coffee but stops and turns as soon as Bitty is in the room. He doesn’t look at either of them while he says “Mornin’” and heads towards the fridge to pull out his ingredients for the pancakes.

“Morning Bits.” Shitty replies. His tone gives away the fact that he knows what happened last night. He sounds pitying and Bitty is not in the mood so just turns a little and gives Shitty a small smile. 

“Good morning, Bittle,” Jack says and Bitty can hear the undertone of softness in the way he says it. It sounds like his Jack. He hears the chair scrape the floor and Jack gets up and Jack mumbles something like “We’ll talk about this later” to Shitty as he leaves the kitchen.

Bitty can feel Shitty’s eyes on him but he doesn’t give any indication that he knows. Shitty clears his throat and asks “So…how’re you feeling today, brah?” HA. Hilarious. Bitty decides to humor him and says in an oddly cheery voice, “I’m fine! I slept like a baby, honest. Last night was probably some of the most fun I’ve had at a party. Ever. Did Ransom tell you how he tried to get me to do a kegstand again? He even picked me up and got me halfway there! He said I weighed as much as four potatoes. Lord, that boy is something else. Such a fun night. So much fun.” Bitty’s smile isn’t genuine and he knows it.

Shitty clears his throat and begins saying “Um, Bits… Jack told me you—“ but Bitty cut him off with a loud “How about you, Shits? What’dya get up to last night?” and glares at him a little. Shitty gets the message and sighs, resigned. “Yeah, uh, fun. Fun, fun, fun. I don’t even remember half of it to be honest. Holtz and I were playing a game where we would have to drink whenever some chick hit on Rans. Probably… not our smartest idea but…I had fun.” 

Bitty snorts and shakes his head. “Y’all are crazy. Want one?” He held up a plate with two pancakes up to Shitty. “Yeah. Thanks, Bits.” Bitty sits down at the kitchen table as soon as the pancakes are done and they eat in comfortable silence, for the most part. Bitty can’t let this ruin his day. Besides, Jack did nothing wrong. He finishes his breakfast, sighs and puts his plate in the sink and heads upstairs. Maybe he’ll go to the library and work on the essay that’s due in four days that he should’ve started last week. Maybe he’ll just sleep all day, who knows. 

~~~~~

 

Bitty just wants to wallow in his grief a little longer. He wants to be sad and alone for a little longer but Jack is knocking at his door again. Bitty knows it’s Jack because he basically memorized the way Jack knocks. Oh god, he’s really screwed, isn’t he?

Bitty rubs at his eyes and gets up to open the door. Jack’s fist is up in an aborted attempt to knock again and lets his hand drop move to the back of his neck instead. Bitty moves out of the way to let him in and closes the door while Jack stands very awkwardly in the middle of the room. “Hey, um, I wanted to apologize and maybe explain. About. About last night?” Lord, he’s so awkward and Bitty hates himself for finding it terribly endearing. 

“You don’t have to explain to me, Jack, seriously. It’s not my business who you kiss and what you do. I’m honestly confused as to why you think I need an explanation.” Bitty hopes his tone isn’t given anything away because he has to be strong right now if he wants to get through this.

“Because!” Jack says maybe a little too loudly and immediately retracts. “Because,” he continues a little softer, “I need to explain it because I need you to understand. I didn’t want to kiss her. She kissed *me*. I sent her home after that. Bittle, Bits, I...It’s you, okay?” Jack finally looks up at Bitty. “You’re the one I want to kiss. You’re the one I don’t want to push away. So could you please just— Can you come here, please?” And Jack looks so miserable that Bitty can’t do anything but reach for Jack’s outstretched hand.

“You mean it?” Bitty whispers not daring to look into Jack’s eyes just yet and instead pretends like Jack’s shirt is the most interesting thing he’s ever seen. 

Jack uses his other hand and guides Bitty’s chin up with his thumb and first finger until they’re locking eyes. “Bits…you must know by now. I don’t think I was actually being subtle. I’ve asked you on like 200 coffee dates. All the chirping? The touches? I thought I was being obvious. Maybe I should have tried a little harder at the whole courting thing, eh?”

Bitty snorts. “Courting? Really?” He sighs. “I thought I was making it all up in my head. I thought you were just being nice, you know? We’re friends, right? That’s what friends do. And then I had to go overboard and fall heads over heels in love with you.”

Jack smiles at him then, so soft and full of love Bitty feels his knees give out a little. “You love me?” Bitty nods a little. Jack leans his forehead against Bitty and whispers, “You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that. I feel like I’ve been going crazy. Having you so close but not being able to touch. Crisse, Bits, I want you so bad.”

When Jack kisses him, Bitty feels like he’s floating. He feels miles above the ground even with one of Jack’s hands at the small of his back and the other cupping his cheek, grounding him. Bitty feels like he can finally breathe-- like he’s been holding his breath for months and Jack’s lips are the oxygen he’s needed all along. God, Bitty wishes he can live in this moment forever. The kiss is soft and sweet and languid. It’s the pull and push of slightly chapped but very soft lips. It’s Jack dragging his tongue along Bitty’s bottom lip and then swallowing Bitty’s whimper when Bitty grants him access. It’s Bitty tracing the lines of Jack’s stomach all the way to his back and Jack sighing against his mouth and pulling them closer until all that’s left are the secrets they’re sharing between their mouths. 

Bitty’s not sure how long they stay like that, kissing and holding each other. He finally pulls away when he remembers he needs to breathe. They’re both sporting matching goofy smiles while slightly out of breath. “This was definitely not how I was expecting my day to go but I’m not complaining.”

“Yeah? Me either.” Jack murmurs while using his thumb to rub a little at Bitty’s bottom lip which is wet and a little swollen. He kisses him again, so softly and whispers, “I love you too, by the way. So much.” 

Bitty’s smile is so bright, it’s blinding. He pulls Jack with him to the bed and lays on top of him with his head on Jack’s chest and Jack’s hand lightly scratching up and down his spine. Bitty doesn’t remember ever feeling this happy and he’s scared he might wake up tomorrow and it won’t be real. He's not sure it even feels real right now. He feels like he’s dreaming. 

“I’m not dreaming, am I?” Bitty thinks out loud. He looks up at Jack when his hand is no longer moving up and down Bitty’s back.

“I wanted to ask you the same thing. There’s no way something this good can be real.” Bitty blushes a little because Jack looks so in awe and so in love. He can’t help but think he looks the same way. 

Bitty leans up to kiss him and promises, “It’s real, Jack. We’re real.” Bitty squeals when Jack tackles him backward and proceeds to kiss the daylights out of him. Bitty can't find it in himself to complain.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic ever and I just really wanted to see this scenario play out with Jack and Bitty so HERE YA GO.


End file.
